It has begun in earnest. With the Iowa caucuses out of the way and the New Hampshire primary approaching, the domestic news agenda for 2008 is pretty much set. To start the year off, here is a quick rundown of the Republican and Democratic candidates’ positions on various issues.WAR ON IRAQRudy Giuliani:  He supported the war on Iraq, the troop surge, and is against a timetable for withdrawing from Iraq.  His top advisors include many neo-cons, including some of the original architects of the war.  Mike Huckabee: Though he was supportive of the invasion, he was reserved in his support for the increase in forces in Iraq.  He also opposes a timetable for troop withdrawal, which he argues should be determined by military leaders on the ground. He criticized plans to divide Iraq into regions.John McCain:  In 2002, he voted to authorize the invasion and is still supportive.  He favored the surge and opposes a timetable for troop withdrawal, which he says would lead to “chaos” and “genocide.”Ron Paul: The Republican anti-war candidate voted against the invasion in 2002 and is still opposed to it.  He protested the troop increase and is calling for the withdrawal of all troops immediately.Mitt Romney:  He stands by his original support for the invasion.  He stood in favor of the troop increase and currently opposes a timetable for bringing the troops back. He criticized plans to divide Iraq into regions.Fred Thompson: As a senator, he backed the war in 2002 and still does.  He favored the troop increase and stands against a timetable for troop withdrawal.IMMIGRATIONRudy Giuliani: He is in support of the possibility of legalization for undocumented immigrants.  They must learn English and pay fines, and the government should finish U.S.-Mexico border fence.Mike Huckabee: He proposes giving the roughly 12 million undocumented immigrants 120 days to register and leave the country, after which they would apply to return.  He wants to toughen penalties for employers who hire immigrants without documents. The border fence would be completed by 2010.John McCain:  Has been the most immigrant-friendly Republican.  As a senator, he co-sponsored a bill offering somewhat of a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.  It was an “earned path” requiring learning English and paying fines.  He also voted for the fence along Mexican border.Ron Paul:  Paul is not supportive of a path to legalization.  He is one of the least immigrant-friendly candidates.  He also voted for the fence along the Mexican border.Mitt Romney: He also opposed a path to legalization and called for tougher employer sanctions for hiring undocumented immigrants.  He wants to finish building the border fence.Fred Thompson: Stood against a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants and wants increased enforcement against undocumented workers.  Finishing the border fence is also one of his goals.OTHER ISSUESSUPPORT FOR ISRAELA panel assembled by Ha’aretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, periodically ranks the candidates according to how friendly they are towards Israel.  On a ten point scale, Rudy Giuliani was the most supportive of Israel of all candidates.  He was given an 8.37.  He was followed by John McCain and Fred Thompson.   The least pro-Israel candidates, according to this ranking, are Mitt Romney, who scored a 6.5 and Mike Huckabee, who was given a 6.  IRANOn the issue of Iran, Rudy Giuliani is the most militant.  He would seek regime change through sanctions and would consider a military option without Congressional approval.  Direct diplomacy is not an option for him.Mike Huckabee’s position is close except that he would engage in direct talks with Iran.Fred Thompson is about as militant.  He would not engage in direct diplomacy, but would consult with leaders of Congress – something neither Huckabee nor Giuliani support.Mitt Romney is also hard-line. He said he would also seek to bring the Iranian president to trial for war crimes.  On the more cautious side, John McCain would seek a multi-lateral approach by involving Europe.  He would engage in conditional diplomacy and would consult with Congress.  However, he feels a military option is still on the table.Ron Paul is the least aggressive.  He said Iran has the right to nuclear weapons, would talk with Iran, and would not engage in military actions against Iran.CLIMATE CHANGEOn issues of the environment, John McCain and Mike Huckabee support a mandatory cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions, or pollution.  They both see the government as the key player and would encourage a global movement towards reducing the greenhouse effect.  They support moving away from dependence on fossil fuels.Mitt Romney believes “any effective CO2 emission reduction program should be global.”  Though he believes achieving energy efficiency is important, he thinks the United States should not take the lead, but should push for developing countries to initiate limits on carbon emissions.Rudy Giuliani opposes the mandatory cap on carbon emissions and argues a market-based solution would work best for reduction.  He and several of the other candidates seek energy independence, or freedom from foreign energy.  Fred Thompson is not convinced that there is a scientific basis for climate change.  He would support more research on ways to reduce emissions, however.  He does not believe the government should play a role and also denies there is a scientific consensus on global warming.  He thinks that private property rights offer the legal basis for fighting pollution from neighboring countries.